Another Broadhead Test Worth Reading....

[Guru]

With Andy Ivy's ("Tradtusker")permission, I wanted to post this here so more folks would see it.

Andy's findings from his time out in the "bush"...

Copy and pasted from another forum here on TG...
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Ok Coming back to this thread Ill give you some info from the field

Last year I did quite a bit of testing on buffalo, both live and on the ground. Did some with clients and some on my own.
Also over the last few years guiding Buffalo Safari's I get to see a lot arrows hitting Buffalo First hand.

So here are a few things which may be of interest.

Firstly there are a lot of heads that work well, some no doubt better then others.

 the Water Buff ribs do not truly overlap, you can slip one through if you get very lucky, 90 of the time you will be hitting a rib though.

   

[Guru]

Again from Andy....
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The Photo above is of the 3 ribs that cover the "sweet" Spot.

On the topic of broadheads We'v had a bunch of heads used over the last few years outside of what i have tested.
 
Some worked well, some did not, some failed as a result of a poor hit, some just got unlucky, and some directly as a result of the broadhead failing upon impact.

There are 2 main failure's i see in broadheads.
Both are from poor structural integrity be it due to the design or the material of the head or both.
 
Of the 2 failure's the worst is the head actually breaking, this usually happens within the front third of the head near the tip, usually right in front of where the ferrule taper ends and it just becomes the blade. Its is a hinge point, where the heads that are to brittle and hard to bend so just break.  

Im am in two minds as to actually Name the heads iv seen break and bend "consistently", I am only putting this information up to help other hunters and can think of nothing worse then someone booking a hunt of the lifetime and having the head they choose Fail them. So I think if you want to know Just PM me.

The Second failure which is quite common is the head bending this is also most common near the tip of the head. But iv seen the head bend through the ferrule and at the insert.

Either way if the head bends or breaks upon hitting a bone, its going seriously hider penetration and your in trouble.

The next most common failure is the head bending at the Insert or the insert breaking out of the shaft or splitting it.  And is the main reason i Foot "all my arrows" no mater what i hunt. Why risk that when there is a way to fix it.

There are quite a few specialist big game heads out now if i can call them that. But they are not all made the same, in fact there have been some serious issues with some. And just because a head may cost $30 or $40 each...does not mean it is the best!

[Guru]

And again from Andy...
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There where a few heads that did well last year, Zwickey for a age old is worth a mention...seen a lot of buff go down to one.

That Tuff head is looking good, will see that in action this year.

Quite surprisingly this head last year Topped them "ALL", I knew it would be good but did not realize just how good.

And Yes it is a 3 Blade...

   
300gr VPA

Not only did it hands down beat all the others in testing and matched some of the highest dollar single bevel 2blades for Penetration, Hands down the best structural Integrity. Best anti deflection on angled impacts.
Its was also the only head i have seen go clean through a Buffalo and into the ground on the other Side.

[Guru]

Please don't take this as me trying to rile anyone up, just thought this was worth more folks reading.

Andy was hesitant to put this here, but let me do it because all he's trying to do is pass along his own personal findings.

Bet it will open some eyes though....

Thank you Andy    

[Breakfast Boy]

VPA heads are awesome.  Thanks for posting this up Guru.

Andy has some YouTube videos up where he's tested VPA heads.  Anyone interested can go to YouTube.com and do a search for VPA broadheads.  And if anyone has questions about our products, they can shoot me an e-mail at [email protected]

-Jameson (VPA Sales)

[Big Ed]

Very cool!

[Mike Vines]

Thanks for doing this.  It's what this site is for.  People test and report their findings.  Most of the time, it has cost me a lot less $ reading and paying heed to the advice from others, thrown in with some testing of my own.

[WESTBROOK]

I would like to know the what it took to push that 3 blade all the way through that Buff. No doubt it was " keep away from me" sharp, but thats a lot of cuttin'.

Would also like to know the heads that didnt fair so well.

Thanks for your time and research Andy!

Eric

[tradtusker]

This Info and findings above are related to a Buffalo BH post so i had that in mind, but non the less it is as relevant hunting deer or any game as it is hunting big game.

And Im talking specifically here broadhead findings, not bow weight, type, arrows ect etc.

Though they all play a huge part as you all know and its finding that "balance" in your gear for how and what you will be hunting.  

I have always had a keen interest in testing gear, pushing boundaries right from when i started, kind of one of those guys that has to see it myself to believe it.

Luckily for me my life affords me to do a lot of hunting myself, lots of time in the field, months and months Guiding everything from African game to Buffalo, Deer and Hogs in Australia.
 To think about how many animals i see every year taken with archery tackle would be in the hundreds... easily!  every year.
 
Iv kept logs, Notes, mental notes, video's, voice recordings the works. Recording what the hunters are shooting, what has worked what has failed. In all aspects of bowhunting. And to see that actually on animal in the field is a long way from what you can try test for in the back garden. Just for my own interest really, so im not trying to step on any toes, Im honest about what i find and only wish that whatever info i can give will help other bowhunters.

The info above is really just a scratch on the surface of the subject. We could all go into some depth about it.

[SaltyDawg]

Good read, and nothing surprising about it at all to me.

I settled on using the VPA 3 blade heads a few years ago, and haven't looked back, or even thought about another broadhead since.

Rick

[Guru]

To quote Andy...."We could all go into some depth about it"

Lets do it brother...

And thanx again, great to have this type of info    

[Gen273]

I just switched to a 175 VPA, so I can't wait to get one bloody.

Thanks for the info!!!!

[tradtusker]

For me this is what i see

"your bowhunting set-up is only as good as the worst piece of gear in it"  

So you strive to eliminate what can go wrong within your setup, and then strive to improve it and yourself.

When you look at it like that, the broadhead is absolutely Critical...its on the business end of your set-up.

If that broadhead fails you, at the moment of truth, it ruins absolutely every bit of time and effort you have put in up until that moment.

There are hundreds to choose from, from the simple to the weird and whacky.
There are heads out there that anyone should be able to look at and see they are not going to be cut out for the job, design flaws, materials used, weak area's, potential failure area's ...ect..ect but they still end up on the front of hunters arrows. Sure they might work once, every now and then, but its about finding what will within reason "always work"

[Dirtybird]

Yeah what was the bow setup for that broadhead.  I love VPA heads but this is very impressive.  I've been testing the Tuffheads out of a 64# bow and it's done very well on all the bone I've put it through.(cow bones, scapula and pelvic)

[ranger 3]

I will be looking for more on this subject.

[snakebit40]

Good read, thanks for the info!        

[rushlush]

Good info. Thanks!

[Breakfast Boy]

Andy may correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the bow that put achieved a clean pass through on the buff was a compound set up.  Andy can give the specifics when he gets a chance.

Nonetheless, Andy will most likely tell you that it's the first time he's seen an arrow go clean through a buff no matter what bow is used.  Yeah, I'm biased on broadheads and I know full well how good VPA heads are, but that buff pass through even impressed me!  Lol!

[SaltyDawg]

I started using the prototype VPA 3 blade in August of 2009. Since that time I have killed over 35 pigs using these broadheads, 21 of which were all taken with the same head.

The pigs ranged in size from 80lbs to over 300lbs. Most were complete pass through exits, but even those that were not had off side exits of the broadhead, and that includes shots from all angles, even broadside shots through thick shield, and ribs on some of the larger animals.

I know a pig does not compare to a buff, but they are pretty solid animals with tough hide, thick muscle & fat, and very strong skeletal structures.

The bow arrow setup was/is Blackwidow PMA 68# using 7595 GT Trads, and 175gr 3 blades for a finished arrow weight of 615gr.

Rick

[Zradix]

AWESOME THREAD!
Thank you!